Countdown To Your Love
by Cosmic Crush
Summary: Its been two years since Atticus has left Duel Academy and now he owns his own successful karaoke club, or so he says. Will Atticus be able to come clean about his real financial situation? Or will he deal with it all on his own? Atticus X OC


**Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Jupie, happy birthday to you!**

**Jamie: You call that a song? This is a song: Happy birthday to you, you live in a shoe, you look like a fangirl! And you scream like one too!**

**Jamie! That is so rude! Anyway this one shot is dedicated to the Fanfiction author, Jupiter's Magic (read her stories and make her day by reviewing one) who is turning twenty today and she is also my online older sister. That means she's been alive for two decades and she's on her way to becoming an adult. **

**Hope you enjoy this as you have been bugging me about this story all day. The soundtrack for this one-shot is "Countdown" by Victoria Justice and Leon Thomas III because I think it describes Atticus really well. I literally own nothing in this story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX or even the OC as she belongs to Jupiter's Magic. I only own Jamie 'pain in the ass' Yuki who is so rude. This story takes place two years after the main events of Duel Academy.**

**Now on with the story! And if any of you guys have birthdays coming up, tell me so that I can write you a one-shot of your choice with the pairing of your choice.**

* * *

A brunette haired girl with piercing green eyes and fair skin walked into the Zodiac Karaoke Club. Her name is Cecilia and she works the afternoon shift along with her best friend, Atticus Rhodes who owns the club. Being close friends with your own boss definitely has its advantages.

As soon as she walked into the bar, she noticed that Atticus had once again fallen asleep on the bar table.

Cecilia was almost tempted to not wake Atticus up because he looked so innocent and sweet; he even had a little bit of drool on the corner of his mouth.

She smiled before disappearing behind the bar and reappearing with a huge glass pitcher filled with ice cold water. She slowly poured the water onto the young man's face. He instantly screamed and fell off of the table once the water made contact with his skin.

"Jesus Christ!" Atticus exclaimed as he pulled himself off of the floor, "Do you always have to wake me up in such a violent manner, Cece?"

Cecelia smirked at Atticus' nickname for her, "Just be grateful I didn't poor boiling hot coffee over you this time."

It was true that Atticus had fallen asleep several times on the job, but Cece enjoyed thinking of new and inventive ways to wake the ex Obelisk Blue student up.

Atticus grabbed a checkered tea towel by the sink and used it to dry himself, "Yeah but you have poured water, iced tea, lukewarm tea, lukewarm coffee, club soda, lemonade, root beer, ginger ale, dandelion and burdock, orange juice, tropical juice, vodka, wine, whisky, tequila, sex on a beach, lime soda, cherry soda, orange soda, coke and I haven't forgotten the time you got a tarantula and dropped it on my face." Atticus started to shudder at the memory.

* * *

**Flashback:**

_It was April Fool's Day and Cece had stormed into the Zodiac Karaoke Bar with a look of vengeance on her face...and a few strands of her now green hair framing her face. Earlier this morning she had washed her hair and she went into her bathroom with brown hair and had come out with green hair._

_There is only one person in the entire city that could have done this to me, Cece thought._

_"Atticus Rhodes, show your sorry excuse for a face!" Cece roared._

_However when nobody appeared Cece started to shout again, "Hello! Did you not hear me Atticus?"_

_Still no answer, so Cece searched the entire club until there was only one place that she hadn't searched. The men's room..._

_Dare I go into no woman's land? She thought, well he did dye my hair green._

_Cece kicked the door open and instantly started to gag. Dear God, what is that inhuman stench? She thought._

_If it smelt this bad from the entrance, who knows what the inside of it smelt like. With a quick intake of air, she ran into bathroom and was met with a ghastly sight._

_I'm never going to take the female bathroom for granted ever again, she noted._

_Thankfully Atticus was in here, except he was resting his head on the sink while gently snoring. Even though Atticus was twenty years old, he still loved to stay up all night on the karaoke machine even though he had no singing ability what so ever._

_Cece took a few steps towards Atticus and was about to turn the hot water tap on, when a dastardly thought sprung to her mind. _

_Atticus had dyed her hair green and as a counter attack, she was going to douse him with hot water? That was certainly not a way to get even, but making him live through one of his greatest fears was._

_Good thing the club was next door to a pet store..._

_Atticus could feel something tickling his face, at first he thought it was his pillow since it was stuffed with feathers, but then he realised that he had fallen asleep in the bathroom (again) so what could be tickling his face?_

_He slowly opened his eyes; he could see something big, furry and black sitting on top of his nose. What in the world..._

_Suddenly the black thing started to move down his face and on top of his chest. That was when he had gotten a really good look at the mystery thing which had six large furry legs and it was orange and black. It was a tarantula! _

_"Get it off! Mummy!" He screamed as he started to pull his clothes off until he was left only standing in his purple boxers._

_All of a sudden there was a familiar high pitched laugh coming from the other side of the room. Cece had appeared from her hiding space, carrying her trusty iPhone._

_"Oh dude...you...should...have...seen...the look...on your...face!" She choked out._

_Atticus' face was now beetroot red and he tried to cover his half naked body but he was epically failing. _

_"That wasn't funny!" He snapped._

_Cece started to straighten out her spine and her face took on a more serious expression, "Now Mr Rhodes, do you have anything you want to say to your fans?"_

_Atticus' jaw dropped open, Cece wouldn't go that far...would she?_

_"You wouldn't!" He exclaimed._

_The corners of Cece's mouth started to curl upwards, "Oh but I did, cause I've recorded your 'little performance' and its going on Facebook...now! Never mess with a girls hair products."_

_All Atticus could do was sink to the floor in shame._

* * *

**Present:**

"You totally deserved that and on the plus side you became a YouTube sensation." Cece reminded him.

Atticus face palmed, "I also had to lie to Zane and Alexis about that. You practically took away my manhood!"

"Manhood? You still like drinking Shirley Temples, playing Mario Carts and don't get me started on your collection of Power Ranger dolls." She countered.

It was true, even though Atticus was practically an adult on the outside; he was still a child on the inside.

"Action figures, at least get it right." He snapped his fingers in front of Cece's face.

"Whatever, anyway I was wondering if I could leave work early today?" Cece asked.

Today was a very special day for Cece and she was hoping that Atticus knew exactly why she had to leave early.

"Really? Today is Friday which is our busiest day of the week and you want to leave _early_?" He asked.

Even though Cece and Atticus were good friends, he was still her boss and she was still his employee.

"I was hoping you would understand because of what today is." Cece answered.

Atticus started to rack his brains but he still couldn't understand why today was so special.

"And what is today? Sass your boss day?" He placed crossed his arms across his chest.

Cece started to boil with rage, could Atticus be this ignorant?

Wait this is Atticus Rhodes, she thought, so of course he could be this ignorant.

"How could you forget what today is! I thought we were friends!" Cece bellowed.

Atticus took a few steps back, an angry Cece is something best avoided.

"Calm down, take it easy." He held his hands out in front of Cece in an attempt to calm her down.

"Calm down? Calm down! I refuse to calm down! In fact," Cece took the water pitcher off of the counter and luckily there was still some water in it, so she threw it all over Atticus, "talk to me when you grow some brain cells."

Cece stormed out of the club and slammed the door behind her with an almighty _bang_.

"Seriously, what is that girl's problem?" Atticus thought aloud.

Even though they had been friends for nearly two years, Cece's vicious temper never failed to shock him.

A couple of hours had passed and it was 4:38pm when Alexis had popped round to visit her older brother at work. Alexis had decided to pursue a career in teaching and she was currently a teaching assistant.

"Sissy! It's great to see you again!" Atticus couldn't help but envelop her in a big, bear hug.

"It's only been two days." She rolled her eyes once Atticus had stopped hugging her.

"Yeah but it feels like its been years. So what brings you here?" He grinned.

"I came here to deliver this to Cece." Alexis held out a small, blue gift bag that Atticus hadn't noticed.

Atticus was baffled with his little sisters statement, "What, why?"

Alexis rolled her eyes at her brothers' obliviousness, "I swear you can be so thick sometimes. Today is June the 21st."

Atticus could feel a familiar tug in mind, why does that date sound so familiar? He thought.

"Yes and..."

Alexis then proceeded to punch Atticus on his right arm, "How can we be related? It's Cece's birthday you numbskull!"

Atticus' eyes widened with understanding, "That explains so much! How could I forget her birthday?"

"Maybe it's because of all the brain damage you received when you were a baby?" Alexis was partially joking.

Atticus didn't even think of a comeback because he was hard at work. Back at Duel Academy he was known as the Magician of Love because every girl he spoke to fell under his love spell, the only exception to this rule was Cece.

* * *

**Flashback:**

_A 17 year old Cecelia was wondering the halls of Duel Academy with a lost look on her face. She had just transferred here from London, England so she didn't know anybody. _

_"This place looks way smaller on the brochure." She mumbled as she bumped into somebody._

_"I'm so sorry," Cecelia started before the apology froze on her lips._

_Right in front of her was one of the most attractive boys that she had ever seen. He was slightly taller than her by a few inches, his skin was slightly tanned as if he spent a lot of time in the sun, his eyes were a dark shade of brown and to top it off, his hair was just...gorgeous. It was dark brown and it trailed down the nape of his neck. He wore a white and blue uniform which suited him very well._

_Alright you need to keep your cool before he thinks you're some kind of fangirl, she thought._

_Chancellor Sheppard had asked an 18 year old Atticus Rhodes to look after a new student since he was the oldest and most experienced student in the third year class. Atticus didn't mind, it would just give him a better opportunity to check out the new student. It had nothing to do with the fact that she was a girl, but if she just happened to be a cutie then that would be an added bonus. _

_"So are you Cecilia Steele?" Atticus asked the girl in front of him._

_Even his voice was alluring; it was as soothing as wind chimes._

_"That's what my birth certificate says." Cecilia replied in a sarcastic tone of voice. _

_Atticus started chuckle, "I think we're going to get along quite well Cece, can I call you Cece?"_

_"It's Cecilia." She corrected him. _

_"Well my name is Atticus Rhodes and I'd like to think of myself as the next Justin Timberlake." He winked at her._

_At first Cecilia didn't like Atticus because he seemed to be too over confident. Yet she could feel something drawing herself to Atticus._

_"Whatever you say Atticus," She lightly hit his shoulder with her fist._

_Atticus slung his arm over Cecilia's shoulder, "So ready for your guided tour, Cece?"_

_Cecilia immediately took his arm off of her shoulder, "Its Cecilia!"_

* * *

**Present:**

It took two weeks for Cecilia to get used to her new nickname and she found that it had grown on her, but she was still able to resist his charming good looks.

"What have I done? I've managed to destroy a two year friendship in the space of two minutes. I have to make it up to her!" Atticus exclaimed.

Before he could leave the room, Alexis grabbed Atticus' arm, "How? You forgot her 20th birthday! Remember your 20th birthday when Cece planned a surprise party for you and sung for you as a present?"

Suddenly an idea popped into Atticus' head, "Lexi, I got a plan."

* * *

Cece was pacing up and down her room, "Stupid Atticus! After everything I've done for him!"

After a few minutes, she had calmed herself down, "How can Atticus do this to me? I mean, it wouldn't be that bad if I didn't have these feelings for him."

Cece didn't know when she had first fallen in love with Atticus Rhodes; she had always viewed him as a friend but after he saved her from being turned into a Duel Ghoul while they were stuck in the Duel Monsters Spirit World. That was the day that Cece had started to develop romantic feelings for the brunette.

Suddenly somebody started to knock on the door to her small (but comfortable) apartment. Who could that be? Cece wondered as she walked over to the door.

She peered through the keyhole and was shocked to see Alexis Rhodes. As soon as Cece had unlocked her door, Alexis had burst into the apartment.

"Come in why don't you?" Cece asked sarcastically.

That was when she noticed that Alexis was wearing a red cocktail dress and black stilettos. She had styled her long blonde hair into a french braid bun which was secured with silver hair pins. Her make-up was subtle but her red shade of lipstick was anything but subtle. To finish off this ensemble, Alexis was holding a black clutch bag.

"This is an emergency! Also happy birthday," Alexis smiled as she handed Cece a blue gift bag.

Cece's eyes started to glitter with excitement, "You didn't forget!"

"I'm not as forgetful as Atticus, so why don't you open your present?" Alexis suggested.

Cece's hands trembled with excitement as she opened the bag and gasped in surprise. She pulled out a silver charm bracelet that had minuscule music related charms, such as a microphone stand, music notes, a violin and a piano. Cece let out a cry of delight before she hugged the ex Obelisk Blue student.

"I take it you like your present." Alexis stated.

Cece nodded in agreement, "I don't like it, I love it!"

"Perfect, so how about you wear your new bracelet with one of your hottest dresses cause we're going out." Alexis exclaimed.

So that's why Alexis is dressed like that, Cece thought.

"Out where?" Cece asked in a suspicious tone of voice.

Alexis knew that Cece would ask this question so she was well prepared with the answer, "There's a new Italian restaurant that's just opened and I've already booked us reservations."

Cece was satisfied with Alexis' answer, "Awesome! Ravioli is just what I need. I'll be ready in ten."

While Cece sauntered out of the room, Alexis immediately got her phone out of her bag and texted Atticus.

_Cece bought it, get here ASAP._

Even though she didn't usually get involved with Atticus' wild antics, Alexis had decided that this one time would be an exception. I mean falling out with one of your closest friends on your own birthday is never a good thing.

After what felt like eternity, Cece was finally ready and Alexis started to squeal in delight. Cece rarely showed her feminine side but when she did, it was totally worth seeing.

Her curly brown hair had been straightened into submission so that it reached the middle of her back and she was actually wearing make-up for once. But the main attraction had to be her dress; it was a turquoise halter style dress that only just reached above her knees and the straps were covered in blue beads. Her shoes were silver peep toes high heels with a matching silver purse. She wore her new charm bracelet on her right wrist while her light wrist was heavily weighed down with an assortment of bracelets.

"Cece, you look amazing!" Alexis exclaimed.

Cece started to blush; she always hated it when she was the centre of attention, "Thanks, did you call a taxi?"

"Well I got us a ride-"Alexis started before she was interrupted by a loud beep, "Looks like it's arrived."

The two girls made their way outside and Cece was met with a familiar dark blue coloured car. Her heart immediately sunk, it was Atticus' car!

But before Cece could make her escape, the back door to the car was opened and Alexis pushed her in before getting in herself. As soon as the pair were in the car, Atticus had immediately locked the door before starting the car.

"Alexis! I'm going to kill you!" Cece screamed as the car began to drive away.

"Sorry Cece, but this is for your own good." Alexis apologised.

"Really? Since when was getting kidnapped by my best friend and her idiotic brother-"Cece was interrupted by Atticus' cry of indignity.

"-for my own good?" She continued.

"I'm not going to let you two ruin your friendship, you got that? Atticus can you drop me off outside Xian's please?" Alexis asked.

Xian's was an expensive Chinese restaurant so its dress code was quite formal.

"Xian's? Why are you going to Xian's?" Cece demanded.

"Jaden asked me out on a date," Alexis explained.

Cece's mouth dropped open; Alexis was going to leave her _alone _with Atticus? Cece could have argued with Alexis but she decided against it because it made her sound too immature.

"Fine, go have fun with Jaden." She sighed in defeat.

The car stopped at that moment and the trio was met with a superb sight. Xian's was beautiful, with its colourful green and white lights dancing across the roof edge as they twinkled and tall, imperial pillars. There was a red Chinese dragon's head at the forefront of the building, popping out and drawing attention to its long white teeth.

Atticus quickly unlocked the car door so that Alexis could get out but as soon as she got out he immediately locked it again. Atticus knew Cece very well and he knew that once she got of his car...let's just say it wasn't going to be a pleasant sight. The car was soon moving again, Atticus used the rear-view mirror to get a quick glance of Cece, she looked fairly annoyed but he couldn't blame her for that.

He decided to break the silence, "You know at some point you're going to have to talk to me."

Cece looked at the rear-view mirror so that Atticus could see her eyes quickly; he was surprised because instead of seeing anger, he saw sadness instead.

"I'm not angry at you for kidnapping me; I'm upset because you of all people forgot my birthday." Cece explained.

Atticus started to feel guilty, Cece had never forgotten his birthday but he had gone and forgotten hers. What kind of friend does that make me? He thought.

"Cece, I'm sorry for forgetting your birthday but you've got to understand how busy I've been lately. I don't know if you know this, but the club is going under." Atticus explained.

"What? How is that possible?" She asked.

The Zodiac Karaoke Club was one of the most popular karaoke places in the whole of Domino City. It was literally impossible for it to be failing.

"As you know I had to borrow quite a lot of money to start the business up in the first place. The bank keeps increasing the interest rate and it's gotten to the point we're I can't afford to pay it back." He answered.

"What about Zane? Didn't he and Syrus start their own Pro League?" She asked.

While it was true that the Truesdale brother did start their own Pro League, it was going through minor difficulties as well due to the time of the year. It thrived during the summer because of all the tourists that visited Domino City, it was currently spring.

"He's going through his own problems; in fact you're the first person I've told." He admitted.

Cece was startled at this new revelation, besides being a pop star, Atticus' dream was create his own record label but since that was out of the question, the Zodiac Karaoke Bar was the next best thing. They had both built this place up together and it was also a symbol of how strong their friendship was.

That was when Cece thought of a brilliant idea that combined her own talent with Atticus'. Even though Atticus had no singing talent, he sure was charismatic and had the qualities of a pop star. Cece on the other hand was the exact opposite. She was a fairly decent singer but her fear of performing in front of large audiences often got the best of her. But if the two of them were to combine their skills together, then the possibilities would be endless!

"I got it! What if every Friday night, we got a cabaret act?" Cece suggested, "Our regular customers are probably bored about how there are always amateur singers and never any professional acts."

Luckily they had already arrived at the Italian restaurant so Atticus wasn't endangering any lives when he stopped the car and turned around to face Cece.

"That. Is. Genius!" Atticus grinned, "Why didn't I think of that before? The only problem is it's expensive to hire quality acts."

"Actually, I was thinking about singing." Cece admitted.

Atticus' eyes widened with surprise, "You? But I thought you hated singing in front of large audiences."

She started to blush, "I do but I'd do anything to help you Atticus."

"I'm sorry, what?" He asked while raising his left eyebrow.

Cece realised what she had just said, "I mean I'd do anything to help you Atticus because I'm your friend."

Atticus sighed, "That's the problem Cece, I don't want to be your friend."

Cece felt like a rusty dagger had been stabbed into her heart. So it was true, he really didn't want to be your friend.

"Let me out of this car!" She cried as she started to pound the passenger door.

Atticus could see that Cece looked like she was ready to cry. Crap, I must have offended her, he thought.

"Cece stop crying," He used both of his hands to grab both of her wrists and forced her to look him in the eyes.

"I'm not crying," She mumbled.

Atticus chuckled at her reply, "Even though you're twenty, you still sound like a stubborn little kid. Anyway you misunderstood me; I don't want to be your friend anymore because I'm tired of us being friends. I want us to be more than that."

Cece's mouth dropped open at his confession, "What? When did this happen?"

He smiled, "From the moment I called you Cece."

"But why didn't you tell me this? Was the Magician of Love scared?" Cece grinned.

Atticus shook his head, "Me? I wasn't scared, you know what they say. The best way to a girl's heart is by getting to know them first and besides, we all know that you had a crush on Jim. And I couldn't compete with him, he had a cool accent and a crocodile called Shirley!"

Cece blushed at the statement because it was true, "Actually I stopped crushing on Jim after you saved me from those Duel Ghouls."

Atticus knew what this meant, "So do you want to be my girlfriend?"

Cece started to laugh, "Only you could make something that's meant to be serious, sound so casual and the answer is yes."

"Great, now to seal the deal with a kiss." He commented.

"In a car?" She asked.

This was sure going to be a funny story to tell everybody in the future, that she hooked up with Atticus inside a small, dingy car.

"Why not, you only live once. Plus its amazing how the most romantic place in the world can be anywhere as long as your love is there with you."

It was amazing how Atticus could act so moronic sometimes, but he had his moments of wisdom. To answer this question, Cece started to lean towards Atticus and he followed her lead as they sealed their union. Yes it really would be a weird story to tell in the future, but it certainly would be the most romantical one.

* * *

**I lied, the only thing I own is the storyline as I thought about it all on my own. So do you guys think there should be an epilogue? Sorry for the Atticus jokes but I specialize in romantic and humorous stories. Also guys there is something else I need to tell you all.**

**Please read this announcement from Angel the Neko and please participate in the Black Out on June 23rd. It doesn't matter if you aren't an author, this affects you too, so please participate!**

**More details about the Black Out are below.**

**Thank you. :3**

* * *

**_Angel the Neko's Announcement_**

PLEASE READ GUYS! I want nothing more than your fanfiction safety:

For those of you who may not know, is planning on taking down any and all stories that are over the M rating. So anything that contains yaoi, yuri, lemons, rape, acts of extreme violence and even song based stories! BLASHEMPY I say! If you haven't already figured it out, several stories would be taken down! PROBABLY YOUR OWN TOO! If they get this done, more than half the stories on this site will be taken down.

I, myself, have not helped organize the Black Out date, but, as I said, I've gotten several messages informing me of it. I am happy to participate in it. And I am hoping all of you will as well, On JUNE 23RD (according to GTM timing, so that we know we're doing it together) everyone DO NOT login, or even enter. I know for some of us on summer break it'll be tempting (myself included).

On JUNE 23RD do not login into FFN, do not read, do not review, do not PM your friends. Do not do anything! DO NOT UPDATE! That needs more emphasis….

ANYWAY! If enough people join us on the Black Out the site will notice and take us seriously. Please! Listen and participate! Even if you are not a writer yourself on the site, some of your favourite stories will probably be taken down! No one wants that!

If you are going to join, PM me, or comment to this. If you are going to participate, PLEASE TELL ME! I need to pass on the information!

The motto for this site is "Unleash your Imagination" How is this even possible if we have such a long list of what we CAN'T write?

Please remember the date JUNE 23RD.

Thank you all again.

* * *

**So far I've already gotten over 40 people to commit to this and it's only been 24 hours! On my profile there is a link to a petition and it would be a great idea if you sign it so that Fanfiction won't ruin our M-rated stories. Don't log in or even visit Fanfiction on June 23rd, the future of Fanfiction rests in our hands. **

**Sorry Jupiter for changing the subject we this message needs to be spread. Don't forget to wish Jupiter a happy birthday and leave a review for this story. See you guys later!**


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